Down the Rabbit Hole Again
by Nate Grey
Summary: Suigintou has won the Alice Game. Her prizes: a reunion with Rozen, her questions answered, and the single greatest desire of her heart realized. But perfection has a high price, and even Alice must take a tumble or two.


Disclaimer: Don't own Rozen Maiden, don't know who does, but neither of us is getting paid for this, which makes me sad inside.

Notes: Oddly enough, this came to me while I was working on another fanfic for this fandom, only this one unfolded faster. I originally wanted this story to be set after the anime, but it blends certain manga aspects as well. I hope.

Summary: Suigintou has won the Alice Game. Her prizes: a reunion with Rozen, her questions answered, and the single greatest desire of her heart realized. But perfection has a high price, and even Alice must take a tumble or two.

* * *

**Down the Rabbit Hole Again**

**A Rozen Maiden Oneshot by**

**Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

* * *

The final battle did not last long.

Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica hung in the air between, torn between where it truly belonged.

Shinku was the light, but she sought her own end to the Alice Game, an end that forsook their father and everything he worked for.

Suigintou was shrouded in darkness, but she more than anyone else would see their father's dream realized, at any cost to herself or her sisters.

Holie and Meimei clashed above them, each seeking the last bit of power that would tip the scales in their owner's favor.

In a flash of blinding light, the choice was made: the Rosa Mystica had chosen Meimei, Holie was driven back, and burning violet filled the sky.

Shinku shielded her eyes from the light, and in that moment, Suigintou's feathers formed the deadly dragon that rushed at and through Shinku, the brilliant blue warmth stolen from her eyes as she fell.

Still, Shinku tried to fight, unable to believe that she had lost, unable to accept that she had failed her fallen sisters. But the rose petals did not come at her call, and Holie's sweet, familiar voice was fading in her ears. Shinku could only hear Suigintou's laughter as Meimei gave her Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica. Then Suigintou was standing over her triumphantly, and Shinku knew her time was at an end.

"I've told you many times before, Shinku. You never stood a chance against me. You did well to last so long, but the others were just weaklings. You shouldn't have let it go to your head the way you did."

There was so much that Shinku needed to say, but both her strength and her mind were vanishing, and she could only give voice to a few half-formed thoughts. "Sister... forgive... Otou-sama... heart..."

Suigintou scowled down at her. "I will never forgive you, Shinku. You're only good for one thing, and you're about to lose that." She smirked as three separate Rosae Mysticae rose and floated into her waiting hand, almost obediently, in Suigintou's opinion. "How about that, Shinku? Now who is the superior Rozen Maiden crafted by Otou-sama, and who is the lifeless junk?"

There was no answer, and Suigintou hadn't expected one. Not that it mattered to her any longer. The overwhelming warmth and power that filled her body was like nothing she'd ever experienced before.

Except that it was.

There was a hint of familiarity about the sensation, but before Suigintou could decipher its meaning, the ground collapsed beneath her feet. She and the lifeless, broken doll that used to be Shinku tumbled down, down, deeper and deeper. She caught a glimpse of the glowing red eyes of Laplace's Demon, and knew he must have drawn them into one of his rabbit holes. Then he was gone as the darkness closed in on them.

* * *

"There you are, my sweet child. Good as new."

It was the voice that caused Suigintou's eyes to snap open. A voice any Rozen Maiden would know instinctively. "Otou-sama?" she whispered.

Three heartbeats later, a man wrapped in a golden aura leaned into her view. He was tall, somewhat thin, and impeccably groomed, but all this escaped Suigintou's notice.

He was her one and only father, and that was all that mattered.

Her first instinct was to cry out to him, to throw her arms around his neck and weep, but her body could not or would not move. Tears of frustration fell from her eyes, but a gentle hand carefully wiped them away.

"None of that now, my darling Suigintou. There is no need to strain yourself."

Suigintou could see in his eyes that he knew what she desired from him, and that it was his pleasure to grant it.

With surprising gentleness, he lifted her in his arms, cradled her against his chest, stroked her hair, and told her the words she'd only dared to dream of hearing him say.

"You've done it, Suigintou. You have defeated your sisters in the Alice Game, and proven yourself worthy of a Rozen Maiden's greatest reward. But first, is there anything you wish to ask me?"

"Why, Otou-sama? Why did you leave me incomplete? Was I not worthy of your love?"

To her shock, he lowered his head, clearly ashamed. "I am not perfect, my child. I could tell you that it was a mistake, that I always intended to come back and finish your design, but it would be a lie. What I can tell you is that you were always intended to be the first Rozen Maiden. You were the prototype. Without you, there would be no others. With you, I learned from my mistakes and improved upon the design. However, in a way, it was best that I left you unfinished. If I had not, would you have crawled off that shelf in your determination to gain my attention? Your iron will is what has brought you this far, and it has made you the strongest of the seven. I will admit my mistake, and I apologize for it, but without it, you would be something else entirely. Something that perhaps would not have made it this far. So I would not change a thing about you, my brave and beautiful Suigintou. Can you ever forgive me?"

Even as he spoke to words, Suigintou found herself able to move at last, and stretched out a trembling hand, carefully brushing his own tears away. "Please, Otou-sama, don't cry. Of course I forgive you. How could I not?"

His responding smile was small, but the feeling behind it was not. Suigintou knew this as he tenderly pressed his lips against her forehead. "I thank you, my daughter. You cannot know what your forgiveness means to me."

Suigintou could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Otou-sama, I love you! Everything I have ever done has been for the right to see you again! It is you who cannot know the depths of my love for you!"

"I wonder about that," he murmured softly, a mysterious smile on his face. "I examined your Rosa Mystica while you were sleeping. I looked through your memories and dreams. I think I can safely say that I know exactly how amazing you really are."

Suigintou blushed at praise, more so when his fingers lightly caressed her cheek. "Otou-sama, thank you."

"No, don't thank me yet. First, it is time for the reward you've worked so hard for. You won the Alice Game, and so you have proven yourself ready."

"Ready, Otou-sama?"

"To receive my most perfect gift: the Heart of Alice."

Suigintou's face went blank as he carried her across the dimly lit room. "The Heart of Alice? What is that?"

"The fusion of all seven Rosae Mysticae around a final stone that serves as the core. No doll could hope to contain such power for long without that final component, which is why the winner of the Alice Game is immediately brought to me."

For some odd reason, Suigintou had a vague memory of Barasuishou's body crumbling to pieces as she struggled to maintain all seven Rosae Mysticae. More than likely it was a memory fragment that bled over from Shinku's Rosa Mystica, but as it also implied that Shinku had lost to someone else, Suigintou preferred not to think about it. All that mattered was that Barasuishou hadn't been an authentic Rozen Maiden, so the end to that Alice Game had been invalid.

"So I'll receive the Heart of Alice?" Suigintou asked eagerly. "And then I'll be the perfect girl that you dreamed of, Otou-sama?"

His smile widened, but instead of answering, he said, "Why don't we allow your sisters a chance to acknowledge their champion?"

Suigintou suddenly felt cold all over, knowing what she would see, but at the same time insisting that it was impossible. The curtain on a nearby window was drawn back, and sunlight flooded the room. Suigintou winced, but even as her eyes recovered, she saw what he had been referring to. The rest of the Rozen Maidens were seated in tall, comfortable chairs far too large from them. Each doll was completely restored to their original state, as if they had never fought their way through the Alice Game. Even Shinku was there, despite the fact that Suigintou felt their battle had occurred no less than a matter of minutes ago. Most disturbing of all was the inclusion of Barasuishou, who shared the final chair with an unknown doll that could very easily have been her twin, in much that same way that Suiseiseki and Souseiseki were.

"Why? Why are they here?" Suigintou demanded. She pointed angrily at Barasuishou. "Why is SHE here?"

"A daughter should not be made to pay for her father's sins," he said softly. "Enju was a monster of my own creation, and I cannot punish her for that. She will never be a Rozen Maiden, but thanks to Enju, one of them is indeed still her sister. Don't worry, Barasuishou is no threat to any of you: I purposely recreated her body so that she cannot contain a single Rosa Mystica on her own. It is fitting, since her sister has no true body of her own. Only together can they hope to become a true Rozen Maiden." With that, he gently placed Suigintou in the only empty chair, then crossed the room to stand in front of the seventh chair.

Suigintou watched with some alarm as he produced a key from his shirt pocket, reached around Barasuishou, and began to wind her up. "Otou-sama, wait! You don't know what she's like!"

"You greatly underestimate my skill, my dear Suigintou. Barasuishou was made by Enju, true, but he was not even the best of my assistants. Much was sacrificed in her original design to increase her attack power, as she was made solely to win the Alice Game. That is no longer her purpose."

It was too late: Barasuishou's body was already giving off the familiar clicks as she jerkily came awake. She opened her yellow eye slowly, and swept the room with her gaze until it stopped on the man before her. Instantly, her eye widened, before it narrowed. "You are not Otou-sama," she said softly, but her voice was tinged with anger. "Where is Otou-sama?"

He smiled. "You're correct, I'm not him. If anything, I am his father, little one. I brought you back."

Oddly enough, the only thing Suigintou could see in Barasuishou's eye then was immediate acceptance, along with some confusion. "Why?" the false Rozen Maiden whispered.

"I cannot fault you for the mistakes of another. Perhaps all you really needed was a true sister, someone else who could understand how it felt to be in your place."

Barasuishou opened her mouth, possibly to disagree. But in that moment, a small hand reached up and pressed against her cheek. Barasuishou spun to the left, finally noticing the doll seated next to her, which had suddenly come to life and was staring at her in awe.

"Sister," the unnamed doll murmured, a giddy smile on her lips as she stroked Barasuishou's cheek. "You are my twin, yes?"

Barasuishou continued to stare at the doll in shock. The similarities between them were obvious, but it was clearly the first time that Barasuishou had found herself in such a situation. She had no idea what to do or what to think.

"Otou-sama, she is the true seventh?" Suigintou asked, already knowing the answer but wanting confirmation.

"Yes. She is Kirakishou, your final sister. For now, she only exists here in my personal N-Field. She has no true body of her own, though that may change soon. Let's leave them alone so they can become better acquainted."

Suigintou was glad to get away from the unusual dolls. They just felt wrong to her somehow, and she was deeply disappointed that her father had chosen to revive Barasuishou. The others she could understand if not accept, but why the false Rozen Maiden, after all the trouble she'd caused?

"You do not approve of my decision to recreate Barasuishou," he said abruptly as Suigintou fell in step with him.

"I know you must have your reasons, Otou-sama," Suigintou replied evenly.

"And if I told I did it out of love for you and the rest of my daughters? That this was done in my pursuit of Alice? Would you doubt me still?"

"My love is greater than my doubt, Otou-sama. Isn't that enough?"

The fond smile that he gave her was completely disarming. "Promise me that you'll never lose your pride, my child."

Suigintou blushed and looked away, murmuring something that was more than likely agreement, though she couldn't really be certain herself. She was even more embarrassed when he suddenly seized her waist and lifted her into his arms, carrying her as he had before: as if she were the helpless child of a doting parent. With anyone else, it would have been the worst sort of humiliation and an unforgivable blow to her pride. But with every touch, Suigintou could practically feel his love passing through her, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world to lay her head against his chest and be calmed by his heartbeat. Before she knew it, though, he was holding an oddly shaped yellow stone in front of her. It looked a great deal like someone had carved it with a peanut in mind, but forgot what one actually looked like halfway through.

"This is it, Suigintou," he told her. "This is the stone that will make you my Alice. You can take it whenever you like."

Suigintou was already reaching for it when she froze at his words. "Why wouldn't I take the stone now, Otou-sama? What reason could I possibly have to wait?"

"I won't lie to you: being a perfect girl may not be as easy or as enjoyable as you might think."

"But it would please you, wouldn't it?" she insisted.

"It would," he admitted. "But I would love you no less if chose not to take it now. All of my children are precious to me, just as they are."

That statement alone made the choice in Suigintou's mind. She wanted her his love, and she very obviously had it. But she wanted to be loved above and beyond what he gave to the others, and the only way she could see that happening was if she became Alice. Aside from that, not taking the stone technically meant the Alice Game was still going in her opinion. She hadn't fought so hard for an incomplete victory. With no further hesitation, she grasped the stone, and was only a little startled when it seemed to melt into her hand.

At once, Suigintou understood why Barasuishou had been unable to contain all seven Rosae Mysticae, and even if she could have, she still would have been unable to become Alice. Suigintou had certainly felt stronger upon gaining the seven stones herself, but the power in this single stone seemed to dwarf even that sensation. The realization that she now had both of those powers inside of her was very sobering. Suigintou made the immediate decision to place limits upon herself, so she wouldn't accidentally destroy any of her father's projects. To her growing shock, the new stone inside her responded at once, and she felt a great deal of her new power suddenly vanish. She could tell it was still there, but locked away until it was needed.

"I see you're already learning how to handle the Heart of Alice," he observed. "You make me very proud, my dear Suigintou."

"Thank you, Otou-sama," Suigintou responded, doing her best not to blush. "I'm glad that you're pleased."

"There is one final reward, if you still want it. I will grant your single greatest desire. Even if it is beyond my power, I will devote all my resources into making it come true."

At once, Suigintou thought of several things she wanted: a strong heart for Megu, all the other Rozen Maidens forced to bow at her feet, to have her father all to herself. But if she could only have one, which would be best? Oddly enough, the answer came to her instantly: there was a way to have all three! Surely if she asked her father to somehow grant Megu a better heart, he would praise her for her thoughtfulness. And with the power she now had access to, defeating the other Rozen Maidens again would be a simple matter. Perhaps it was not quite the same as what she wanted, but Suigintou was now starting to suspect that no force in existence could convince her father to completely abandon any of his daughters. It would have to be enough to be the greatest loved among them.

But as Suigintou opened her mouth to make her request, a gasp escaped her lips as all seven Rosae Mysticae seemed to pulse and grow white hot within her. She was nearly overwhelmed by the flood of memories that flew through her mind, but very few of them were her own. The others clearly belonged to her sister Rozen Maidens, but she could think of no reason why they should be appearing now.

No, that was wrong. Thanks to her new sense of awareness, she could think of one reason, but she just didn't want to.

None of the memories were battle-related, surprisingly enough. Most of those Suigintou would have seen already, anyway. Despite that, each one was a true eye-opener, and had a far more powerful impact on her than she ever would have guessed they would.

Kanaria, her body flattened against a rooftop, barely breathing as she peered through a large pair of binoculars at a hospital across the street, where, Suigintou saw with a pang of guilt, Megu was writhing in agony as the ring on her finger blazed with a violet light. How long had Kanaria known Megu's identity and location, and why had she never acted upon the information?

Hinaichigo, her eyes falling shut as she fell asleep in the arms of the panicked human girl that had once been her medium. Suigintou knew without question that the doll's body was just that: deprived of its Rosa Mystica, it would never move under its own power again. Yet now, for some reason, it bothered her. Hinaichigo had only lost the Alice Game because she had been too weak to fight, placing all her trust in Shinku instead of finding another medium. Unworthy as she was to be a Rozen Maiden, she still had their father's love.

Suiseiseki, her mismatched eyes sad and cloudy as she carefully straightened and readjusted a familiar top hat, resting on the head of an unmoving Souseiseki. Here, too, Suigintou felt no pity for her defeated sister. She had taken Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica in combat, as was the proper way. Souseiseki had been just as eager to fight, so there was no reason to question that victory. But something told Suigintou that it would have been far kinder to strike down Suiseiseki in the same breath, if only to keep their Rosae Mysticae together.

Shinku, bursting unexpectedly from her doll case, blue eyes wide with terror and guilt as she clutched at her chest. Then, in the softest of whispers, offering a single, desperate plea: "Suigintou, my sister... please forgive me."

Finally, Kirakishou, sitting in their father's lap as he read to her from a storybook. She did not seem to be listening, at least not consistently: her single eye repeatedly focused on the shelves across the room, where she could see several unfinished doll parts. Suigintou shuddered with both sympathy and rage: she knew the longing that her sister must have felt, but how dare she ignore the honor of their father's full attention?

Combined, it was more than Suigintou could bear. She was completely unaccustomed to feeling anything beyond amusement or pleasure at the sight of her sisters in pain. Now she felt their pain as if it was her own, and in a very real way, it was. By taking their Rosae Mysticae, she had taken in their very essence: their hopes and dreams, fears and doubts, and yes, pains they had once thought private were hers now as well.

For the first time, Suigintou realized that becoming Alice was the worst thing she could have possibly done. What good had it done to utterly destroy her sisters, if she was going to be saddled with their wounds? Surely this was not what their father had wanted for the winner? Why play the Alice Game at all for such a miserable prize?

To her shock, her father did not seem to see things the same way.

"Is it not beautiful, my darling Suigintou?" he asked with a wide smile. "Can you feel your sisters' hearts beating in perfect sync with your own? Listen, and you will hear their inner voices joining yours in an endless, harmonious choir!"

Suigintou could not think of how to tell him that all she felt was the agony she'd caused them, and that all she heard were their cries and screams. She could not bear to tell him that her selfish actions had cost her the ability to truly appreciate the wonder of his greatest gift. "Yes, Otou-sama," she whispered, her voice thick with tears. "It is so lovely."

"Then tell me your wish, and I will grant it."

* * *

The battle was not going at all as Suigintou had planned.

While she had not exactly expected to defeat the seventh Rozen Maiden with easily, she had still assumed that she would be winning this far into the fight. But Barasuishou had proven to be even tougher than she looked, in more ways than one. Several times Suigintou had damaged her, and just moments later, the damage was gone, as if it had never happened.

Barasuishou's field was not helping matters, either. Though Suigintou had initially been able to use the crystal-filled terrain for cover, lately it had only been serving as a fairly painful crash pad. Barasuishou seemed to take great pleasure in slamming Suigintou into and through the crystals when she could manage it. The only thing that pleased her more were the many times her sword clashed with Suigintou's own.

Worst of all, Suigintou was starting to get the impression that Barasuishou was holding back her true strength. At several points during the fight, she would pause to talk to herself or giggle in a rather disturbing manner (doing each in an separate voice, in fact) for a moment, giving Suigintou a little time to recover. Then Barasuishou would resume fighting with the same power and intensity as before, at least until the next pause.

It was during one of these pauses that Suigintou finally lost her patience with the situation.

"Stop toying with me, you stupid doll!" she shouted. "If you're not going to take this seriously, I will destroy you!"

Barasuishou's exposed right eye widened as she took a step back. "Yuki onee-sama, she's yelling at me. Why is she doing that?" She immediately responded to her own question in a second voice: "Don't be scared, Bara-tan. Black onee-sama does that quite a bit. You just need to hit her until she's quiet." Apparently reassured, Barasuishou grinned and rushed forward again, barely giving Suigintou time to defend herself before the crystal sword crashed against her own.

Suigintou winced as she retreated a few steps. Her own strength was fading fast, but Barasuishou wasn't tiring at all. Each time the seventh doll began to falter, that annoying second voice would kick in and push her right back into the fight. At first, Suigintou just assumed that Barasuishou's artificial spirit was louder than others. But something in her head insisted that not only did Barasuishou not have a spirit, but that the second voice was somehow familiar.

She didn't have a chance to think on it, since Barasuishou came at her next with a particularly strong slash, and in her weakening state, Suigintou could not block it with her sword alone. "Meimei!" she gasped, buying herself a temporary break as her violet artificial spirit flew at Barasuishou's face, effectively distracting her.

Suigintou's heart sank as Barasuishou's second voice spoke again. "Deal with her, Rosary." A white spirit shot out of Barasuishou's hair and forced Meimei away, leaving Suigintou wide open for the next slash, which tore open her dress and left a burning line of agony down her front. She stumbled backward, tripped over a crystal and fell, breathless, on her back. Amazingly, no further attack followed, but Suigintou froze when she felt the tip of Barasuishou's sword press firmly against her throat.

"Give up, onee-sama," Barasuishou ordered, an instant before she giggled and added excitedly, "Don't forget to ask her, Bara-tan, don't forget!" She blinked rapidly and continued, "I will allow you to keep your Rosa Mystica, if you agree to become a second vessel for Yuki onee-sama."

Before Suigintou could ask who Barasuishou might be referring to (or if she was just plain crazy), something shifted and bulged beneath Barasuishou's eyepatch, and Suigintou felt sick as a white rose, thorned stem and all, bloomed directly from the seventh doll's eye socket. At once, something turned over in her mind, and she knew what she was seeing. "Kirakishou," she breathed. "It's you in there, isn't it?"

"So clever you are, Suigintou," Barasuishou said approvingly, though in Kirakishou's voice. "That's part of why we want you. Say you'll join us, say yes! The rest of our sisters won't stand a chance once we have you!"

Suigintou's first instinct was to refuse. She did not want to be anyone's puppet, and certainly not Kirakishou's new body. But as she stared up the length of Barasuishou's sword, something occurred to her. She had been thoroughly defeated, and Barasuishou had only managed it before because Shinku had provided a distraction. This time, Suigintou had fallen to the combination of Barasuishou's might and Kirakishou's advice. Perhaps two or more sisters working together was not as foolish as she'd first thought. It had certainly served Shinku well, well enough to see her to the finals of the Alice Game. Was this what she'd meant, when she'd said there was more than one way to win?

Laughing weakly, Suigintou closed her eyes. "You make me proud to be a Rozen Maiden, my cute little sisters. I accept defeat and agree to your terms."

Barasuishou tossed her sword away at once and knelt down, pressing her hands to the wound in Suigintou's chest. More white-thorned vines slithered out of her sleeves, burrowing into Suigintou's body and stitching up the wound in a matter of seconds. One of the vines made its way up to Suigintou's face and burst open into a white rose, showering her face with what felt like droplets of dew. Then Suigintou was falling into a vast sea of white as far as the eye could see. She was not afraid, merely confused, until two sets of hands grasped her arms.

"We're so glad you said yes, onee-sama," Kirakishou murmured, wrapping her arms around Suigintou's waist.

"Together, we will see Otou-sama," Barasuishou added, slipping her arms around Suigintou's neck.

Suigintou said nothing, but closed her eyes and basked in the strange feeling of warmth that washed over her.

Somehow, somewhere, one of seven voices stopped screaming, only to be replaced by a soaring duet.

"I understand now, Otou-sama," Suigintou whispered, holding onto her sisters tightly. "I won't fail you again."

* * *

"It looks like your experiment has failed again, dollmaker."

Rozen smiled faintly as he watched the next stage of the Alice Game unfold in his workshop's full-length mirror: Kirakishou's team had launched an attack on the Sakurada home, and despite being outnumbered, were holding their own easily enough. "Oh, I disagree, old friend. I'd say this outcome is the best result I've had so far. They are learning. Suigintou never considered joining forces before, and Kanaria joined Shinku's team without even being asked this time. It's only a matter of time now, and I can wait a little longer."

"You really expect them to figure it out on their own? How could they? You erase their memories after the end of every game, leaving only trace emotions and a handful of dreams to guide them. The winner doesn't even know that she's won. You even convince her that her greatest wish is to do it all over again. They throw everything into a dream they've already achieved."

"And when the dream finally matches the one I had for them, my Alice will truly be born."

"I suppose you couldn't just tell them that your vision of Alice is all of them working together toward a common goal? That what you really want is for them to look past the Alice Game and see the true meaning hidden underneath?"

"I could tell them," Rozen admitted, "but even if I did, they would only agree to it reluctantly, for my sake. I prefer for their bonds to be forged, rather than forced." He sighed. "No matter how long it takes. I can wait."

"You are a strange human, I have always thought so. Shall I go play referee, before young Sakurada finds his house wrecked beyond repair?"

"I owe him that much, I think," Rozen agreed with a nod. He noted, with some dismay, that Shinku's team still lacked unity: Shinku insisted that Barasuishou was the primary threat and needed to be defeated first, but Kanaria was pleading with the others to take down Suigintou first and fast (no doubt to spare Megu from further pain). By the time that Laplace's Demon interfered and transported Kirakishou's team away, Kanaria had attacked Suigintou alone and been quickly defeated, her Rosa Mystica and body taken before Shinku's team could react.

"I can wait," Rozen said quietly, very much aware that he was alone now. "Every doll carries within her a light worthy of Alice, because every Rozen Maiden is a single aspect of Alice. Only by coming together will Alice be born, and only by uniting in harmony will her birth achieve the perfection that I envisioned. That is my dream, my single greatest wish for all of my children. So I will wait."

* * *

Suigintou understood her role in Kirakishou's team perfectly. She gave her opinion when asked, carried out Kirakishou's requests before they became orders, and attacked to overwhelm and disarm, not to wound or torture.

Fortunately, they had been of the same mind on nearly everything (Barasuishou seemed to have no mind, simply agreeing with anything Kirakishou said), and the few times they had disagreed, Suigintou had quickly given in. Kirakishou was surprisingly lenient about possessing Suigintou's body: she clearly preferred Barasuishou, and in any case, Barasuishou tended to need far more of Kirakishou's influence to be depended upon. She often forgot what she was doing, or became distracted by shiny objects, or simply stopped moving entirely if Kirakishou didn't keep a constant eye on her. The one time Suigintou had dared to ask, Kirakishou had only murmured, "Bara-tan was a little slow when I found her, and she's mostly fine now, but sometimes I still have to give her a little poke to get her moving."

The addition of Kanaria in their group had gone smoothly, as well. While Kirakishou claimed to have no use for a Rosa Mystica herself, she had still seen the wisdom in not giving an extra to Suigintou. The only thing they could do was return it to Kanaria and make her one of them. This, oddly enough, had been even easier: Kanaria practically ordered them to become her subordinates, which Kirakishou thankfully had a good sense of humor about. It stopped being funny to Suigintou, however, when she noticed that Kanaria was never away from her side for more than a moment. Suigintou couldn't really blame her. The way they each thought of their medium was completely different, and Kanaria was convinced that Suigintou would kill Megu off the first chance she got. It was annoying, but Suigintou had to put up with it unless Kirakishou decided otherwise.

So of course, she did.

* * *

Kakizaki Megu opened her eyes and found that her hospital room had changed overnight.

The door had been blocked by an enormous crystal, which contained the sleeping form of one of the night nurses.

Suigintou was in her usual spot on the window sill, only now she was accompanied by two others: a pale-haired doll that kept staring at Megu and giggling in a rather disturbing fashion, and a green-haired one that kept adjusting the bed and fluffing any pillow within reach.

Megu could have asked what was going on, and probably should have. But, seeing as how Suigintou looked annoyed, as usual (as opposed to furious or withdrawn), she decided it couldn't be anything too bad, and leaned forward a bit to accommodate the green-haired doll's pillow fluffing.

Only after a few minutes did Megu summon the courage to ask why each one was wearing a white rose in their hair, and wasn't a bit surprised when, instead of answering, the pale-haired doll gave her a rose to wear as well.

**The End.**

* * *

**Endnotes:**

"Yuki" is the normal way of reading the first kanji in Kirakishou's name. I just wanted a short, simply nickname that was easy (for Barasuishou) to remember.

Okay, from what I think I understand, Kirakishou needs humans to maintain herself within the N-Field, and a doll's body to fully materialize herself in the real world. As she has no desire to obtain a Rosa Mystica, I assume that means she has no need for any but her own. If all that is true, then all she should really need to exist outside of an N-Field is a willing body (and I say willing because unwilling ones have proven somewhat unreliable), and perhaps, eventually, another medium.

The idea that every Rozen Maiden carries an aspect of Alice was actually inspired by the manga, though it doesn't really state that in so many words. Kinda hard to explain, really. Anyway, Kirakishou said it, so it could just be crazy doll talk.


End file.
